70d vs. 7d - which to get? does anyone have both? which do you prefer and why?

[Maria]

I've been considering both cameras and leaning more towards the 70d for two reasons, one it's a newer model and two is lighter.  Weight is an issue for me.  But having said that if the 7d is a far better camera I may need to find a way to deal with the weight...  thus looking for input on which one is 'better' - i'd primarily be using it for taking pictures of children (which are usually moving - and also portraits - of children - mostly of my daughter who is young and not big on posing).  70% of the pictures are taken in doors in not so great light - low light - typical living room with no added lighting.  I primarily use my new 24-70mm f2.4 lens (since recently purchasing can't justify putting anything else on my current camera: T1i).

From what i've read i don't see a significant difference between the 70d and 7d but have read that the 70d is better for movies - but that will not be what i primarily use it for as a video camera that i like. Not to say i won't forget it or be without and want to use the camera to capture something - just not something i see doing very often.  I just read that some that have the 70d are having problems with recording - not clear if its a card issue or camera issue?

the 70d seems to work more like my T1i so maybe a larger learning curve if i get the 7d? the one thing i noticed was that the 70d had 5-6 buttons on top close together for settings which were a bit awkward to reach and feel which was which - on the other had the 7d had very few so wondering which is easier to use or quicker to change settings on?  I primarily shoot in Av or Tv but want to move to M so the easier the transition the better.

Price wise the 70d is about $100 more than the 7d - i'm looking for the body only. I want to buy locally so my options are limited. Likely have to get from the local Future Shop...

One more thing - i'm reading that the 70d will not do Spot AF?  is the true? i'm confused by this - what does it really mean?

any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

[TCampbell]

I'm sure you'll be quite happy with it! Speaking of comfort... if you use the camera for extended periods of time, the factory strap can be uncomfortable. There are "sling" style straps that attach to the tripod bolt hole on the bottom of the camera and these tend to be quite comfortable even for all-day use. Black Rapid brand and Carry Speed brand are fairly popular. I happen to own a Black Rapid strap, but I have a good friend who has the Carry Speed and they're both quite nice.

If you're using the camera for short periods then you may not care. I use it because sometimes I'll go out shooting for many hours at a time.

One of the most popular books for learning to use a DSLR is the Bryan Peterson book "Understanding Exposure" -- written using language that anyone would understand. This book isn't written with any specific model DSLR in mind... the books goal is to teach you to shoot on "Manual" mode. Once you understand how to shoot in manual and realize what each aspect of exposure, you can use any mode.

Having a camera that performs well at high ISO will actually help get better shots in general. If shutter speed is low, then you can get motion blur when either the camera or subject moved while the shutter was open. Moderate action will usually be frozen at speeds of 1/250th or faster. And even fast motion tends to be frozen at speeds of 1/500th or faster. If you're not getting the speeds you want, take her to an area where the light is better so you can improve the shutter speed.

Good luck!

[rswannabe]

I hope I'm not too late to get in on this. I'm actually having the same quardry. I had pretty much decided on the 70d as it seemed every bit as good as the 7d with the exception of the body material. I have a t3i right now and have grown out of it. I also have a baby crawling around, but mostly take staged portraits of him and have done portraits for family and freinds with decent results.

Maria, how have you enjoyed the 6d? I was wondering if everyone was saying it has better low light capability because it has a higher iso range, or because it's full frame.....or both? I'm interested in using for portrait shooting, but also some landscapes. Don't care that much about high end vid.

Is it worth almost $1,000 more to get the 6d? I would at some point like to do this as at least a side business. Thanks in advance!,

Robert

[lacieleigh]

Hello! I'm a brand new user and I'm deciding between the 7D and 70D. Like the above poster, I won't use video much and will be shooting my children, who are very active. I have a friend with a very new, barely used 7D, who will sell it to me for $650. A new 70D is $1099 now. Keep in mind this will be my first camera....what should I do?!

[Yorptunes]

The 70D.....I would never recommend a 7D for a first time camera user.  The 70D which I use all the time now is great nor a novice all the way to a professional that likes to do their own settings.   7D requires a decent DSLR skill sinece you do not have the automatic features that the 70D has.  

[Skirball]

I would never recommend a 70D for a first time user.  It's ok for beginners to use beginner equipment.  The extra money spent on a 70D over a Rebel or used 7D could be much better spent on lenses, something that will have a direct impact on the photo quality.  The benefits of a 70D, for non-video use, for a beginner, are slight.

[TCampbell]

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@lacieleigh wrote:
Hello! I'm a brand new user and I'm deciding between the 7D and 70D. Like the above poster, I won't use video much and will be shooting my children, who are very active. I have a friend with a very new, barely used 7D, who will sell it to me for $650. A new 70D is $1099 now. Keep in mind this will be my first camera....what should I do?!

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The 7D is a camera which was optimized for action photography use.  

An entry-level Rebel body will have 9 auto-focus points when you look through the viewfinder.  There is a single center point, and 8 additional points surrounding the center point arranged in a diamond-shaped pattern.  It's a fairly simple auto-focus system.  

The 7D (and 70D) both have a 19 point auto-focus system -- far more points.  You can manually select which AF point you wish to use and can also select grouped clusters of points (e.g. you could, for example, tell the camera to use a group of points on the right side of the frame if your subject is located over there... without specfiically telling it which individual point to use.  The camera can auto-select the point -- but only limited to that group or "zone".)  It's a more powerful focus system, but it is DEFINITELY worthwile to take several minutes to read and learn how to take advantage of the focus system.

These are more powerful cameras ... but understand that owning a better camera wont help if you don't take the time to learn how to exploit it's features ... no more than buying a better piano will make you a better musician if you never bother to take lessons or practice.  It's a "tool" which can be exploited to achieve much better results but you have to learn to use the tool.

The Rebel bodies (and even the mid-range bodies like the 60D and 70D) have some entry-level features such as the "scene intelligent" modes... if you want to take a portrait you can put the camera in the mode that has an icon of a portrait.  The camera will now optimize it's exposure settings in a way that is generally better for portraits.  If you want to shoot action, there's an icon for that, etc.   

On the higher end bodies (like the 7D) these "scene intelligent" modes disappear.  That's because these cameras are targetted toward experienced photographers who know that if they want to take an action photo, they should use settings which optimize on the shutter speed (to freeze action) and adjust aperture to collect more light (for faster shooting) and/or boost the ISO senstiivity (so the camera doesn't require as much light to capture the shot.)  Experienced users would never use those featues even if the camera had them.

SO... if you have a friend willing to sell you a gently used 7D and they only want $650 for it... that's a fanastic bargain and I think a number of people here would probably pounce on that opportunity.  BUT.... keep in mind the features that help beginners are not present on that camera and you'll need to spend a bit of time reading the manual, learning the features, and you should also invest in a couple of good books to help you get started learning to shoot with a DSLR camera (primarily you'll want to learn  the basics of exposure.)

Many modern computers include an SD card slot so that you can load photographs from a camera's memory card directly without having to attach the camera.  A 7D does not have an SD card slot... it uses a CF card slot instead.  This is a bigger, thicker card.  The reason for this is because when the 7D was still on the drawing board, the SD cards were all rather slow.  The camera would have needed more time to write each image to the card and this would slow down your shooting speed.  The CF cards, on the other hand, were available in significantly faster transfer speeds.  TODAY you can actually get fast SD cards (but you couldn't back when that was a newly introduced camera model.)  Since the 7D is optimized for high-speed shooting / action photography, it used CF cards rather than the slow SD cards.  I use an external CF card reader for my computer.

The 7D has a magnesium alloy body (metal) rather than the polycarbonate (a very durable plastic) body that the Rebels use.  The camera will be slightly larger and noticeably heavier (the 7D is built like a tank -- there is nothing flimsy about it.)

The 70D bridges the entry-level and advanced range.  It retains all the friendly entry-level features of the Rebels... while introducing many (but not all) of the more powerful features found in the pro bodies.

[lacieleigh]

Thank you! All of the information is very helpful. I'm just trying to gauge weather the price break is worth the hassle of starting with a more difficult camera. I could use some advice on where to start in regards to learning how to use the camera (no matter which one I get) there are DR classes offered at the photography store but it's $50 a week and we can't budget that.

[lacieleigh]

*DSLR

[Yorptunes]

70D has many presets chose your setting, portrait, scenery, action and push the button. As you grow with the camera you can begin using the custom settings. Again the 7D is difficult for a new user.

[cale_kat]

lacieleigh, You would be well advised that the 7D is soon to be replaced by a new model which will be introduced in the next week or two. I would suspect that any used 7D will be worth less once the new model, widely called the 7D Mark II, is introduced.

Good luck.